A report from Macleans in Canada. "An unprecedented one million Canadians applied for unemployment insurance in just one week in March. Officials are bracing for four million applicants. We have moved with alarming speed past the question of whether Canada…
A report from the Wall Street Journal. "In an analysis of revenue from Airbnb bookings, AirDNA, a Denver-based analyst of the short-term rental industry, found that on the days that would have seen bookings for the Boston Marathon, revenue in…
A report from Think Pol on Canada. "'No.' That’s the Government of Canada’s one-word response to Airbnb’s request to bail out hosts who are struggling to survive amid cancellations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Airbnb’s request was met with…
A report from Bisnow. "The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the commercial real estate market in ways both large and small. Shares of real estate investment trusts have fallen 34% between February and March 16, which implies a 24% decline in…
A report from Bloomberg. "The market for mortgage-backed securities was in free fall, with fear running rampant and banks seizing collateral. That was last Saturday. In the week since, three top investors in the sector have engaged restructuring advisers, two…
A report from CNBC. "CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday delivered a dire message about the financial future. 'Home buying had been a real engine of the old economy. I’m betting these numbers collapse,' Cramer said. 'The whole housing cohort’s a…
A report from Forbes on what's happening with FHA loans. "Today should have been the day that Ignacio Paulino closed on his new mortgage loan. But thanks to the coronavirus outbreak—and the fears that it will set off a wave…
It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Nonbank financial firms spent years lobbying against tougher regulation and stricter capital requirements, arguing that their emerging dominance in mortgage lending didn’t pose a risk to the financial system. Now, many of…
A report from HousingWire. "HousingWire spoke to Todd Bitter, a loan originator servicing the Greater Phoenix-Scottsdale market. HousingWire: What are you doing within your lending business to adapt to the current market situation? Todd Bitter: For the last quite a…
A report from Reuters. "The coronavirus crisis is likely to cut home and office building prices, may lead to a permanent shift in the demand for office space, and could push highly indebted households and companies toward default, Boston Federal…